Niagara Falls – Tacky Postcard Capital of Canada

Earlier this week, I returned from a family trip to Niagara Falls. I’ve been going to the Falls about once a year my entire life and it has never disappointed for its never-ending and diverse supply of tacky postcards.

Here are my latest, glorious finds from this trip:

Even though Niagara Falls is among the most southerly locations in Canada, it’s great to see such a stereotype of Canada as an Arctic nation so predominant. (In case you are wondering, our polar bears have to wear sunglasses obviously not due to our sunny clime, but because of the 24-hours of sunshine we experience during the summer as we all live so close to the pole).

Here’s another along the same line:

It’s hard to call this a stereotype as although it is well known that Canada is a land of permafrost where we live in igloos (I did have an American ask me once if I lived in an igloo), the other images are clearly inaccurate. Anyone who has had a polar bear as a pet (as most Canadians have) are well aware that you cannot keep them on a leash when you take them for a walk – they are definitely off-leash kinda pets!

Here’s another Niagara Falls gem that I’m also not quite sure how to peg:

I’m not sure if the point of this postcard is to appeal to Americans – as we are notorious for our multi-coloured “funny money” – or to suggest that Canada is a land of great wealth. Either way, and as odd as it is, it is refreshing to see alternative imagery of Canada than provided by the prior two specimens.

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more similarly bizarre and tacky postcards from the endless well that is Niagara Falls!